The jury selection in Sean Combs‘ sex trafficking and racketeering trial has been delayed until Monday, after prosecutors from the Southern District of New York and Combs’ high-powered criminal defense team spent the majority of this week quizzing potential jurors on their backgrounds and knowledge of the case.
The reason for the delay was concern from both U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian and Combs’ lawyers that some jurors could get “cold feet” over the weekend and wish to excuse themselves from the high-profile celebrity case. To prevent that from happening, on Monday morning, both sides will whittle down the remaining 43 jurors into a final group of 12 men and women and six alternates, who will ultimately decide the hip-hop mogul’s fate. Opening statements would begin immediately afterwards, around 9:30 a.m.
Judge Subramanian was clear he expected the trial — which is expected to last approximately eight weeks — to stay on track. Prosecutors have stressed they have a time sensitive witness, Victim-1, who is expected to take the stand early on in the case. Although not named in court documents, it’s clear that Victim-1 is Combs’ ex-girlfriend, Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, who is several months along in her third pregnancy.
Combs, 55, admitted earlier in the week that he was a “little nervous” as he faces 15 years to life in prison if convicted on five felony charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and has been held without bail at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since his arrest in September.
Dressed in a navy blue sweater and dress slacks, Combs was actively involved in the jury selection process, whispering and conferring with his attorneys. He shook his head in disapproval when a potential juror admitted to watching a recent documentary about him, laughed when one man admitted he’d struggle going the full trial without using marijuana, and nodded when he approved of certain people, including a 30-year-old woman who was arrested for shoplifting a wand from Harry Potter World.
The defense fought for the inclusion of one 38-year-old male juror from the Bronx who admitted that in his past, he had “held a grudge” against law enforcement due to previous run-ins with police officers but had since learned to be proactive rather than reactive. (The juror is still among the candidates to be selected.)
It was nearly impossible to find jurors who hadn’t seen or read some news reports regarding Combs and the allegations. Both SDNY prosecutors and Combs’ stacked defense team expressed concern about some potential jurors’ apparent eagerness to be part of the celebrity criminal case.
Many admitted they had seen surveillance video footage of Combs attacking Ventura in a hotel in 2016. One prospective juror described it as a “damning piece of evidence” before she was struck from the pool for cause. Yet all jurors sworn in on Monday told the court they could put everything they might have heard about the case out of mind and be unbiased as they listened to the government’s evidence against Combs.
The government has accused Combs of using his billion-dollar business as a “criminal enterprise” that allegedly used physical violence, threats, and coercion to fulfill Combs’ “sexual gratification,” which included the alleged sex trafficking of two former girlfriends — including Victim-1, who is R&B singer Ventura — between 2009 and 2024.
Combs has adamantly denied the charges against him and claimed he has never sexually abused or sex trafficked anyone.
